Read part one, part two, part three, and part four first!

He couldn’t be serious. There was no way in hell he was serious.

Harmony pushed back from him and got off the bed, grabbing a t-shirt and pulling it over her head. She spun on him, but he held his hands up before she could speak.

“Harmony, listen. Just, wait. Before you freak out.”

She defiantly thrust her hands on her hips and glared at him. She did not bring him home for that. For whatever he thought he was doing.

“Shit. I shouldn’t have said that-”

“Damn right you shouldn’t have. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Kevin crawled off the bed and pulled on his pants. “Okay, just calm down. I, damn. I don’t know, Harmony. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Yeah, we just met, we barely know each other but it’s different. You’re different.”

Harmony scoffed. “I thought that was why you wanted to fire me.”

Kevin shook his head. “I was an idiot. I never should have judged you, or anyone else, based on appearance. That was my first mistake. After that… hell, I should have done a lot of things differently. I didn’t care about the people. I cared about the company. One night with you and I know why your customers can’t get enough of you.” She smirked. “Not like that. Although, yeah, that too. I just hope they don’t all know that.”

She playfully smacked his arm.

“Seriously. I’ve been miserable. I hated my job. Always being the person who delivered bad news. Watching how you work, how your whole team works, over the last week has been… I don’t know. I can’t really explain it. You guys work together better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be that guy anymore. I don’t want to ruin people’s life. For some working in a restaurant isn’t much, but for others it’s everything. Flexible hours, decent pay, variety, whatever. I’m sick of telling people they aren’t good enough. And of wasting my life. I know it’s nuts, but I want to see where this could go.”

Harmony ran a hand through her long purple hair and sat on the edge of her bed. It was too much, all of it. He was asking more of her than she thought. First he wanted her in the management program and then he said he’s changing his whole life because of her. She wasn’t someone who inspired that. She was just an ordinary person who looked a bit different than everyone else.

“You can’t throw your life away for me. You don’t even know me.”

Kevin sat down next to her. “Oh, but I do. I know the color your eyes turn when you’re angry. I know the way you smile when you’re talking to someone you like and someone you don’t like. I know you’re fiercely loyal to your friends and would stand up for your coworkers over anything. I also know you go above and beyond to do things for others even though no one else seems to do much for you.”

“People help me out,” Harmony argued. “My coworkers and I work really well together. But that’s besides the point. Kevin, I like you, I do, but we’ve had one night together. Do you really think you should change your entire life based on one night?”

Kevin reached over for her hand and twined their fingers together, resting both hands on her lap. “Are you worried about me changing my mind or you?”

Harmony took a deep breath and looked down at their hands. Only the truth would do. “We have nothing in common. You’re a buttoned-up suit, I’m a wild mess. You’re a corporate oriented person and I don’t want anything more permanent than the next shift. I just don’t know if we would work.”

Kevin smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “I don’t want to be that guy anymore. Don’t you see? I’m not asking you to support me, but I want a change. I need a change. I just want you to be there with me through it. I want you as a part of my life. I can get to know you in bed and out,” he said with a wave of his eyebrows.

Harmony laughed and shook her head. “I’ve never imagined myself with a man like you, I’ll be honest. There’s something about you that draws me in, but my exes were all… well, more like me. Artists, musicians, creative types. I guess I’m a little anxious about a relationship.”

“A little nervous, but not against it? So you’ll give it a shot?”

Harmony rolled her eyes at his grin. “If I’m honest, I want to get to know you too. In and out of bed.”

“Well, then,” Kevin said, laying Harmony back on the bed, “I think I need to get to know you a little more right now, and maybe again later.”

Harmony laughed… at least until Kevin kissed her senseless.

Read part one, part two, and part three first!

Surprise spread across Harmony’s face. She eased into his arms, slightly disappointed that he didn’t kiss her, but intrigued by the dance. Before long she was laughing as he spun her around to the music in his head. Kevin held her close and her body heated up. With every brush of his hand down her back, sweep of his breath across her face, and bump of their bodies together Harmony got hotter and hotter.

When he spun her out then crashed her back into him, his eyes held hers. An invisible pull between them brought Kevin closer and closer until their lips touched.

Fire shot through Harmony, leaving her wanting more. Seeming to feel the same way, Kevin angled his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss, his tongue darting out to trace the seam of her lips. Harmony opened for him and slid her tongue along his. He tasted like the beer he’d had earlier and she hummed her approval.

His hands drifted over her, one tangling in her hair and the other going low to cup her ass. She felt his arousal against her belly and rubbed against him, wanting more, wanting all of him.

“Let’s go to my place,” she murmured as she pulled back from him.

He nodded hazily and let her lead him back to their cars. Harmony climbed in hers and watched as Kevin got behind the wheel of his car. She briefly wondered what she was doing. Hooking up with the person who was sent to eliminate her job was not only crazy, it was possibly career ending.

But for some reason she just didn’t care.

Harmony was never one for flings. The only men she’d slept with were ones she was in committed relationships with. With Kevin though, she wasn’t backing down. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t going to see him again after a few weeks. She was content to make some memories that would keep her warm at night once he was gone.

Back at her apartment Harmony let him in and suddenly felt nervous. She didn’t know how to do it. No, she knew how to do it, she didn’t know how to handle things. Should she offer him a drink? Maybe they should go straight to the bedroom. Or did they have sex on the couch?

That was why she didn’t hook up with random guys.

“Harmony, nothing has to happen,” Kevin said softly as he pulled her into his arms. “We can just get to know each other.”

Harmony shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just don’t ever do this. I’m feeling insecure and foolish all of a sudden.”

“Don’t worry about it. How about some music? We could dance again,” he offered with a grin.

Harmony smiled at him despite her unease and started a playlist. Kevin pulled her into his arms again and they danced slowly in the darkness of her living room. Slowly moving around, like teenagers at their first dance, they held each other close and listened to the music.

Harmony picked her head up from his shoulder and looked into rich, brown eyes that held more care for her than she’d seen in a while. Without a word she led Kevin toward her bedroom.

They kissed softly, learning each other without any sort of urgency. It was understood that they had all night together and they were going to take it.

Kevin’s hands drifted under her shirt to graze her bare back. She arched into him, feeling the hard planes of his body against her. As he lifted her shirt, she stepped back from their kiss to see him. With her shirt on the floor, his followed right behind and she could feast her eyes on the taut muscles of his body.

Their mouths collided again, flesh brushing flesh, heat brushing heat, desire brushing desire. Fingers fumbled at buttons and zippers before both were naked and panting. Kevin’s hand dipped between them and found her center, wet and ready for him. He slid a finger inside and she bucked against him, eager for his hands to carry her to the edge of sanity and push her over.

He made quick work of her first orgasm and guided her to the bed for the second. Once she was breathing heavily and boneless, he protected them both and slid into her.

The fullness of him shocked her. He wasn’t overly long, but he was thick in a way she’d never experienced before. She felt every glide of him, in and out, in and out, and her body twisted into knots. His pace increased and she moved with him, a boost of energy driving her forward. He looked down at her, eyes blazing with desire she felt from the tips of her hair to the edges of her toes. She couldn’t look away, couldn’t break the connection they had, and she wondered, just briefly, how she’d ever go on without him.

He covered her nipple with his lips and her back bowed toward him, offering herself to him, willing him to take everything he desired. Kevin accepted what she gave and returned the promise with his body, driving her higher and higher into the oblivion she sought.

As her body coiled tightly around him, she felt the last bit of her control slip away and shatter beneath her, a glorious wave of power coming over her. Kevin pumped into her then roared her name, pulsing deep inside her.

He collapsed on top of her then rolled them to the side. With her head tucked under his chin they both started breathing normally again. Panic set in for Harmony and she wondered what in the hell had gotten into her. She never did that sort of thing. Especially not when it could compromise her job.

No, she wasn’t going to regret it. Kevin was leaving and it would never be more than it was at that moment, but Harmony was not going to feel bad about doing something for herself. About letting go for once. She was going to enjoy the moment and worry about the future when he was gone.

Then he whispered, “I don’t know if I can go on without you.”

Read part one and part two first!

Kevin’s eyes went wide as he realized he spoke aloud. “Shit, Harmony, I shouldn’t have said that.”

She smirked at him. “Really? I thought maybe that was part of your game. Maybe try to sleep with me so I’ll join the manager’s program. I mean you’re cute and all, but I’m not into stuffy men who think I’m worthless because I have purple hair.”

“I’m cute? That’s all you’ve got.”

Harmony leaned back in her seat and looked at him. She raised an eyebrow and appraised him slowly. “Well, first of all, you’re here to eliminate jobs, most likely mine if you can find a way to do it. Secondly, yeah, cute is all you’re getting for now.”

Kevin smirked at her, enjoying her sass. It was easy to see why guests liked her so much. Just like she said, if you could get past the odd appearance, she was kind and funny. Not to mention beautiful. Hell, even with the purple hair he thought she was gorgeous.

“Why don’t we get out of here?” Kevin asked, knowing she’d never agree. “Go somewhere we can talk. Maybe I can convince you to upgrade my status.”

She shocked him when she sucked down the rest of her drink and stood up. She flashed him a look and headed for the door, leaving him to decide if he was going to follow her or not.

Harmony was halfway to her car by the time Kevin caught up to her. “Keep up. I tend to drive fast,” she said without stopping. She got in her car and he stared after her for a minute before climbing into his car and chasing her out of the parking lot.

As Harmony drove through the quiet streets of town Kevin wondered where she was leading him. They passed through the center of town and headed out the opposite end. Harmony turned off the main road then made two more turns. Harmony parked in a parking lot near what looked like a park and got out of her car.

“I love coming here at night,” she told him once they were walking across the grass. “It’s so peaceful. I grew up not far from here and spent my summer swimming in the lake and playing on the playground.”

Kevin followed her quietly, not willing to break the spell she seemed to have cast on him. The moonlight caught her hair and reflected the colors within the depth of the purple. He watched her hips shift as she moved across the grass toward a gazebo close to the water’s edge and his cock shifted in anticipation.

Harmony stepped into the gazebo and sat on one side, facing the water. She leaned forward and gripped the seat, emotionally and physically on edge. “I don’t know why I brought you here,” she confessed.

Kevin sat across from her, not caring that the view was behind him. He was content with the one in front of him. “I’m glad you did. How old were you when you learned to swim?”

She laughed and it transformed her whole face from pouty and sexy to light and stunning. Kevin was finding it harder and harder to convince himself he didn’t want her, purple hair and all.

“I was four. My mom always loved to swim so she brought me and my little sister here a lot. I don’t really remember not being able to swim.”

“I was almost ten before I learned. We didn’t have a pool or any public water close by so I never got a chance. In school they started teaching us so I learned, but I was never very good.”

Harmony snickered. “You’re good at your job. Or at least I assume so or they wouldn’t send you around to different restaurants.”

He shrugged like it embarrassed him. “I guess. I’m starting to look at things differently though.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Because of me?”

“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “You were right about me. I saw the surface and never bothered to find out what was underneath people. Your guests looked underneath you and showed me what I’d missed before.”

“And what do you think now?”

“I think I’ve been a fool.”

She laughed softly and nodded. “This place brings out the truth.”

“The truth is I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I first saw you. And with every word out of your mouth I want to kiss you even more.”

“And what I’m trying to figure out is what’s stopping you.”

Kevin sucked in a breath and met her eyes. The depths of her blue eyes shone back at him and he found himself drawn to her in a way he’d never been drawn to a woman before. She was beautiful, sexy, and absolutely amazing. But she was also his employee.

“You work for me. Plus, I’m trying to convince you to join the manager’s program. I don’t want you to think I’m attracted to you before I want to manipulate you.”

“Are you? Trying to manipulate me?”

Kevin shook his head. “No. I’d never do that to you. Or anyone else, but especially to you.”

“Why me?” she asked, looking vulnerable all of a sudden.

“You don’t know how beautiful you are, do you? I didn’t want to see it, but I can’t deny it. You’re stunning, but more than that you’re kind and outgoing and friendly. The first words you said to me were trying to protect your friend from losing her job. You weren’t worried about yourself, you were concerned for her.”

Harmony shrugged. “I know her situation. If you fired me, George would give me a kick-ass recommendation and I’d have a new job within a day or two. Molly though, she’s got a kid to worry about and George works with her hours so she doesn’t have to hire a babysitter.”

“See that’s it, right there. You’re getting passionate about someone other than yourself. It’s sexy in a way you couldn’t imagine.”

Harmony looked at him again and asked, “And yet you still don’t want to kiss me.”

He shook his head and pushed off the bench he was sitting on. “It has nothing to do with want. I want to kiss you more than I want to keep my job, more than I want to have my next breath.”

He stalked toward her, slowly and purposefully. Her head tipped back to watch him approach. When he was right in front of her he reached his hand out to her. She slid her hand into his and let him pull her to her feet. She leaned toward him and he slid one arm around her back, keeping the other in his grip.

“Dance with me,” he whispered against her ear.

Read part one first!

Harmony was gorgeous with her bright smile and sparkling eyes. Of course the smile had been for her coworkers and not for Kevin, but he saw it, just before she noticed him, and the smile fell from her lips.

“We need to talk,” Kevin said.

Harmony stood rooted to her spot, her feet frozen to the ground where she’d spotted him. Kevin tried to read her eyes but wasn’t sure he could tell what she was thinking. She crossed her arms over her chest elevating her breasts up and drawing his attention to them.

“Are you trying to fire Molly because if you are I have nothing to say to you,” Harmony spat at him.

Her audacity frustrated him but her protection of her coworker made him curious. She wasn’t asking about herself and her own job, she latched onto her friend’s future.

“I’m not after Molly. Besides that, I wouldn’t talk to you about one of your coworkers. I want to talk about you.”

She scoffed at him and rolled her eyes. Harmony brushed past him to get in her car. She opened the door and looked back at him. “You want to fire me because of my appearance and not my skills. If you have something to say about my work I’ll speak to you, but if you’re just interested in me because of the way I look then you can talk to George, or any other employee in there. While you’re at it, stop by and talk to all the customers who come in every night and request my section, or the ones who don’t get into my section.”

The anger radiating off her was palpable. Kevin could feel her fury and the truth was, she was right. He was still questioning her skills because of her appearance, not because of anything he’d seen her do. If anything she was the best employee in the entire place.

And Kevin didn’t understand it.

“I’d like to talk about your work. Can I buy you a drink? There’s a bar not far from here.”

Kevin watched as she chewed her bottom lip, the dark red contrasting against the bright white of her teeth. His cock twitched as he imagined being the one to sink his teeth into her lips. He wanted her. She was nothing like any other woman he’d been with, but there was something about her that was undeniably attractive.

“I’ll meet you there,” she said finally then climbed into her car. He tried not to watch the way her hips moved or the curve of her ass when she slid into the seat. When she closed her door he snapped out of his trance and went around to get in his own car and followed her to the bar.

Inside the bar was quiet since it was a Tuesday. TV’s crowded the room and a few people sat at tables, a few more on bar stools. Kevin directed Harmony to a table near the door and sat across from her. A waitress brought Kevin a beer and Harmony a water. She took a sip then got to business. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

*****

Harmony watched Kevin take a sip from his beer. His lips were full and soft, just like she liked. Men with thin lips always made up for it with too much tongue when they kissed. And soft lips… well who wanted to kiss sandpaper.

He set the bottle down and looked at her. His brown eyes watched her, glancing at her lips before focusing on her eyes.

“I’m trying to figure you out. Are you really as good as you seem?”

She snickered and shook her head. “Yeah, I’m as good as I seem. You want to know my secret, don’t you?”

His eyes narrowed and took her in. She watched him, waiting for his admission. He leaned forward and smiled, “Yeah, I do.”

Harmony leaned in too and whispered, “I give a shit.” She sat back and sipped her water, watching for her words to sink in.

“That’s all? You give a shit?”

“That’s all? You think it’s easy. Here’s the thing, most people who work in a restaurant are either doing it until something better comes along or because they can’t get anything better. I do it because I love meeting new people every night. I love my job and it shows. I ask my customers why they’re out, I talk to them about their kids, I learn what they like and what foods appeal to them. When the same people come back I recognize them and can recommend new dishes for them to try and ask about things we talked about before. I’ve been doing this so long that it’s rare I have a table full of people I’ve never met before.”

“People love you,” Kevin said, not a question, but a statement.

“People who are open-minded love me. When someone like you comes in and sees someone who looks different, well, you don’t love me. People who know the color of my hair, or my lipstick, or if I’ve got tattoos, don’t matter… those people love me.”

Kevin leaned back in his seat and lifted his beer to his lips. Harmony watched his mouth and found herself imagining his lips over hers. The soft glide of his tongue, the brush of his fingers over her.

If only he wasn’t a stuffed shirt.

“I’m starting to see I was wrong,” he began. “I’ve spent most of my time here trying to figure out how you do it. Every employee I’ve worked with has sung your praises, not to mention I’ve seen how well you work. Honestly, you should be in our manager’s program.”

Harmony shook her head. “I don’t want to be a manager. I like being on the floor with the customers. Plus, I make more money as a waitress.”

Kevin nodded as though he understood. “Okay, but what if I made it worth your while?”

“You couldn’t. George already tried to get me into the program. He’s been trying to talk me into it for years.”

“I bet I could convince you.”

Harmony raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. “What makes you think that?”

“Because I know how to push your buttons. And because I have a bit more pull than George.”

Harmony ran her tongue over her lips and Kevin’s eyes focused on her tongue.

“God, I want to kiss you,” he said quietly, almost to himself.

But Harmony heard him.

He walked in and surveyed the room. He spotted her right away, but then again, anyone would have. One look and he knew she was going to be a challenge for him. In his position he couldn’t fire someone for their appearance, but if he could, she’d be the first to go.

Working for the corporate management of Quality Foods, Inc, Kevin mostly kept to the office. Lately though, his job had started changing and he’d been forced into the restaurants they managed to do evaluations. He would go in and determine if a restaurant was being run efficiently or if changes needed to be made.

So far he hadn’t seen one restaurant that didn’t need a change. Everywhere he went there were people slacking on the job, and every single time the slackers looked just like her.

If he looked past the dark red lipstick, the smokey eyes, and the blue hair, she could be pretty, maybe even an asset to the company. He’d learned that the ones who customers responded to the most were young, attractive women with bright smiles. The woman he was assessing had a scowl on her face that matched the darkness of her appearance.

Kevin shook hands with the manager of the restaurant, George, and they talked about how things were going for a few minutes before he was introduced to the group of employees. Everyone smiled and said hello but Kevin could feel the tension radiating off them. It was the same everywhere he went. He was a consultant, and everyone knew that meant he was there to cut employees. His mere presence put that on edge, but he couldn’t do anything about that. He had a job to do and he was going to do it.

The hour before they opened passed quickly. He watched how the employees interacted and noticed they all went up to Harmony, the blue haired woman, to speak about something. She appeared to be helping everyone with one thing or another and still managed to get her own work done.

But Kevin didn’t get to his position by believing only what he could see.

When the doors opened everyone took their positions. Harmony was a waitress in the largest section of the restaurant. With that load Kevin had no doubt she’d show her true capabilities and he’d be free to let her go by the end of the night.

Slowly the restaurant began to fill up. Kevin stood behind the bar watching as customers were seated and served. Harmony’s section was the first one full, even though the others still had open tables and she had the largest section. He pulled out his notebook and wrote down ‘Seating Rotation’ so he would remember to ask George about the way they sat guests and why all sections weren’t filled at the same time.

In fact, some sections had only one table with guests while Harmony was handling six tables herself.

Something wasn’t right.

He watched Harmony intently. She greeted every guest with a bright smile and a kind word. Many of them she appeared to know personally, leaving him to wonder if she’d invited all her friends and family in to help her evaluation. He’d never seen someone stoop to that level, but he wouldn’t put it past an employee to manipulate a situation to their advantage.

When food started coming out Kevin saw that Harmony got help from the other servers to carry food to her tables. Her guests all had their food at the same time instead of in shifts as she could carry it. She returned the favor for her fellow servers and overall he was shocked by how well everything appeared to run.

Determined to find a problem, Kevin wasn’t willing to give up. When the night was over he returned to his lonely hotel room, but he found his thought occupied by a certain blue haired waitress with soulful blue eyes and too much red lipstick.

*****

Three days later Kevin was still hanging around. Harmony was getting frustrated by his presence. Her entire shift he would spend watching her, waiting for her to screw up. He was one of those corporate stiffs that thought she couldn’t do a good job just because she chose to have blue hair, purple now, and liked tattoos.

Although the tattoos part she couldn’t blame him for. He’d never see any of her seven tattoos. They were all carefully placed to be hidden under normal clothing, just in case she ever got a ‘real job’ like her mother kept insisting she do.

Harmony liked the restaurant though, at least most of the time. The customers loved her and she was equally enthralled by them. Nowhere else could she meet a new person every night and feel like they were her best friend within an hour. She was amazed how people opened up to her while they were having dinner, but she’d shared in more than her fair share of anniversary dinners, break-up celebrations, birthdays, reunions, and countless ordinary evenings where people came together just to be together.

She had the best job in the world.

She just hoped she’d be able to keep it.

Just like every other night, Harmony was given the largest section in the restaurant. She never minded though because even if she didn’t get assigned to it, she would end up with the largest section. Customers came in and asked to be seated with her all the time. She felt bad for her fellow servers sometimes because it was rare someone asked for one of them, but they weren’t as good to their customers.

Harmony never gave away things for free. She never gave discounts that weren’t issued by a manager. She didn’t do anything special, but she knew how to treat people. Every single person who came through her section mattered to her, and she made sure they knew that.

Kevin was shadowing Molly, the hostess for the night. Harmony hoped he wasn’t gunning for Molly. She was a sweet kid, about six years younger than Harmony’s 28, and just out of college. Molly was living with her parents since she couldn’t get a teaching job right out of school and working at the restaurant to support herself and her two year old daughter. Harmony had a lot of respect for someone who went through college as a single mom. It had to be tough.

The hours passed on Harmony’s shift and she was only mildly aware of Kevin’s presence. If he let loose a bit she could see where he’d be attractive, but the suit coat and tie made him look too stuffy to be any fun. Still, his rich brown eyes and broad shoulders, not to mention the flat stomach she was sure was hiding under his starched shirts, gave him a few points.

When Harmony’s six hour shift ended she was more than happy to head home, but she stayed to clean up. Only once the dining room, bar, and kitchen were clean did she even think about heading out. She waved goodbye to the others in the parking lot as they all retreated to their cars and found Kevin leaning against the car next to hers, a serious look on his handsome face.

“We need to talk,” he demanded.